Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Name: Tommie Campbell

Age: 60

Job: Pest technician and trainer at J&J Pest Solutions.

How long have you worked for J&J Pest Solutions? "I've worked here on and off since 2010."

How long have you been in the pest control business? "Overall? It's been 40 years. I started working for the government and did that for about 37 years. I retired in 2010 after I met Jim," Campbell said. Jim Campbell is the owner of J&J Pest Solutions. "And then (I) started helping him and giving advice." Campbell figured out different ways to remove pests without using pesticides during his time with the government.

What do you do at J&J? "Pest (removal), mostly. I take care of general pests. Everyone here has their own territory; one's strictly termite. I do a little of everything."

What's a typical day like? "Over the summer, some days go long into the night, sometimes. I start around 8 a.m. and end up going on for who knows how long. You can go to your first place with four stops for the day, and end up with 10 or more. It all depends what's going on and what calls you get. You never really know."

What's the biggest pest problem here? "Bedbugs have made a tremendous comeback. We thought we had them eradicated for 30 years, and they've just made a huge comeback. They're one of our biggest concerns. And eradicating them can be hard. They can lay dormant for two years and then, boom! They're just crawling all over."

What's the most surprising part of your job? "You gotta love people. You can't just get a job and not get connected. You have to get on their level, listen to their complaints. It's very people-oriented. They know you, trust you. It wasn't my dream job to be in pest control all my life, but it's a very fulfilling job."

- Derek Wickham

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It's My Job: Tommie Campbell, employee at a pest control company

Barbara Anita Green 6

By: Performance Painting Contractors, Inc.

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Barbara Anita Green 6 - Video

Crown Point Gift of Color Nominee 2013

By: Performance Painting Contractors, Inc.

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Crown Point Gift of Color Nominee 2013 - Video

Gift of Color Winner

By: Performance Painting Contractors, Inc.

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Gift of Color Winner - Video

The state Department of Transportation (MassDOT) advises residents and visitors to check its online resources, drive with caution and if possible use public transportation over the holidays.

As always, I-90 Exit 9 connecting I-84 to Connecticut and New York experiences heavy traffic on peak holiday travel days. Drivers are encouraged to consider travel during the early morning or after 8 p.m.

Traffic congestion is also typical at the I-95 and I-495 Turnpike interchanges along with I-495 and I-93 northbound leading into New Hampshire, according to the state.

The I-93 Southeast Expressway HOV lane opened to traffic early on Christmas Eve at 1 p.m. to accommodate traffic leaving Boston.

Free coffee will be served at all 18 MassDOT service plazas between 10 p.m. on Christmas night, Wednesday, Dec. 25, until 5 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 26, and between 10 p.m. on New Years Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 31, until 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014.

MassDOTs Traffic and Travel Resources page includes links to all MassDOT travel resources. The state says now is the time to sign up for EZPass and avoid cash tolls.

Before traveling, visit MassDOTs online traffic camera webpage to check live traffic cameras across the state. The 511 traffic alert system alerts customers to traffic conditions throughout the holiday weekend.

The state advises drivers remember winter driving skills and tips for preparation. Motorists should drive with headlights on, observe posted speed limits, never drink and drive, make sure everyone is using a seatbelt and clear snow from vehicles before driving. More information on safe winter driving is available at the MassDOT website.

The Army Corps of Engineers painting contractors will suspend work on the Sagamore Bridge during the two weeks of Christmas and New Year's. All travel lanes will be open Dec. 21, 2013, through Jan. 5, 2014. After the holidays, work will resume on the Sagamore Bridge with lane restrictions Monday through Friday, 8 a.m to 4:30 p.m.

The MBTA Christmas Day through New Years Day holiday service schedule includes a Sunday service schedule for Wednesday, Dec. 25, and Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014. The T will provide rush hour level service from 3 p.m. through 2 a.m. on New Years Eve, Dec. 31. Check out the full T schedule at mbta.com.

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State offers tips for holiday travel

MassDOT advises residents and visitors to check our online resources, drive with caution and if possible use public transportation over the holidays. As always, I-90 Exit 9 connecting I-84 to Connecticut and New York experiences heavy traffic on peak holiday travel days.

Drivers are encouraged to consider travel during the early morning or after8 p.m. Traffic congestion is also typical at the I-95 and I-495 Turnpike interchanges along with I-495 and I-93 northbound leading into New Hampshire.

The I-93 Southeast Expressway HOV lane will open to traffic early on Christmas Eve at1p.m.to accommodate traffic leaving Boston.

Free coffee will be served at all 18 MassDOT service plazas between10 p.m.on Christmas night,Wednesday, Dec. 25, until5 a.m. on Thursday, Dece. 26, and between10 p.m.on New Years Eve,Tuesday, Dec. 31, until 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014.

The Army Corp of Engineers painting contractors will suspend work on the Sagamore Bridge during the two weeks of Christmas and New Years. All travel lanes will be openDec. 21, 2013 through Jan. 5, 2014. After the holidays, work will resume on the Sagamore Bridge with lane restrictionsMondaythroughFriday, 8 a.m to 4:30 p.m.

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MassDOT issues travel warnings for holiday travelers

Tuesday, December 24, 8:27 AM EST

By Karen Brune Mathis, Managing Editor

A permit application has been filed for the $985,000 interior build-out of the $1.04 million shell structure recently approved by the city.

Target Contractors Inc. is the contractor for the project, a 24,000-square-foot store for the North Carolina-based organic and natural foods grocer.

Plans show Earth Fare also will offer a 41-seat caf area near the entrance. The caf is near the coffee and yogurt bar.

The store is at 11901 Atlantic Blvd. in the center anchored by Academy Sports & Outdoors and LA Fitness. Belk also plans to build a department store there.

The center, developed by Sleiman Enterprises, is at northwest Kernan and Atlantic boulevards.

Earth Fare will include 13,510 square feet of sales area and 8,676 square feet for storage and preparation, along with mechanical and other space.

Earth Fare, based in Fletcher, N.C., near Asheville, calls itself "the healthy supermarket." It began in 1975 and now operates 31 stores in nine states, including a Florida store in Tallahassee. It started in 1975.

Publix Baymeadows to renovate

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Earth Fare store is a $2M project

Everyone wants to get the most bang for the buck, and the Downers Grove Public Library is no exception.

For a taxpayer-supported, public-serving organization, its our duty. We are working with our architects, construction managers, Library Board and members of the community to make sure that we get our moneys worth as we renovate our building. This is a challenging task.

On Nov. 22, we opened formal bids from about 40 contractors. They were competing for contracts in a dozen trades (carpentry, plumbing, electrical, painting, to name a few).

To our dismay, the proposals from the lowest bidders in each trade added up to $433,000 more than our budget.

We didnt waste any time wringing our hands. Everybody got busy.

Our construction managers communicated with the lowest bidders, confirming that the bidders had correctly understood the project drawings and specifications.

Our architects examined materials and finishes and other design elements, looking for cost savings.

The staff revisited the plans for furnishings, equipment, and office arrangements.

The Library Board considered all the identified changes, making sure that we did not lose sight of the projects original goals.

We have made a great deal of progress. At the Library Board meeting on Dec. 11, our design and construction team presented preliminary savings totaling a little over $360,000.

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Ashton: Bids coming in over budget only a hiccup

Belleville #39;s Outdoor Lighting display part 2 of 7

By: Joe Flash

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Belleville's Outdoor Lighting display part 2 of 7 - Video

A day before Ambassador Meera Shankar was to return home after completing her tenure in the US in the summer of 2011, her maid, without informing anyone, left her official residence on the outskirts of the city never to return.

The highly-secretive Indian Embassy hushed up the matter from the media and is believed to have registered a formal complaint with police and the State Department, in addition to cancelling the maid's official passport.

The woman domestic worker, who served the Ambassador quite well during her tenure of more than two years in Washington, is still untraceable and believed to be living illegally in the US.

And she is not the only Indian maid -- officially called "India-Based Domestic Assistant" -- to have fled from the homes of senior Indian diplomats in the past few years.

Sources familiar with such incidents told PTI, strictly on condition of anonymity, that the number of such maids or India-Based Domestic Assistants from the Indian Embassy in Washington -- one of the largest Indian diplomatic missions -- could be at least a dozen in the past decade.

Not only maids, but security guards brought from India too are believed to have fled, mostly towards the end of their tenure.

The Indian Embassy did not respond to PTI's questions on the number of IBDAs currently with staff at its diplomatic posts in the US, including the embassy in Washington and consulates in New York, San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta and Chicago.

In 2012, the US issued a total of 54 A-3 visas, which are the ones for IBDAs or maids, to Indian diplomats. In all, as many as 1,141 A-3 visas were issued last year, while 749 applications were rejected.

A-3 visas are for the domestic help of diplomats and foreign officials who are in the US on A-1 and A-2 visas.

According to official figures made available to PTI by the State Department, the US issued A-3 visas for 32 Indian domestic workers in 2011, 50 in 2010, 60 in 2009, 38 in 2008, 35 in 2007, 40 in 2006, 60 in 2005,55 in 2004 and 47 in 2003.

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Several maids have fled homes of Indian diplomats in US